The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1887-05-28

To the average person, who knows
but little of the complicated system by
which the great railroad lines are man.
aged, it is mystery how the freight
cars of roads separated by the breadth
OF the continent come to be made up in
one train; how they ever get back to
the lines of the companies by whom
they are owned, and why they are not
'lost, strayed or stolen Oftentimes
the freight trains which run into Phila-
delphia on the Pennsylvania lines will
be made up of cars bearing the initials
of companies thousands of miles apart.
Yet every one of these cars is accounted
for, its movements recorded. Take,
as an example, great railway having
5000 freight cars, and it is likely that
on any given day, from I 900 to 1900
of these cars will be scattered over the
United States on scores ofdiferent lines
of road and yet SO simple and perfect is
| the system that with comparatively
small force of clerks the general car
agent can tell within few miles of the
point where car No. 365I is to-day, and
if it is not promptly accounted for can
very accurately place the responsibility
for its detention.
The necessity of such system is ap-
parent, when it is known that every
railroad company using on its line car
owned by another company is compell-
ed to pay two and three. fourth cents
Tor every mile the car is moved over its
line, whether it be empty or full. Of
course, if it is full, the company gets
freight charges for the cargo, but if emp
ty, the two and three-fourthS cents is
as dead loss to them. From motives
of economy the general principle then,
with every road, is that it should be run
loaded both ways over the road when
ever this is possible. For example, if
the Wabash were to make rates for the
shipment of 200 car loads of merchan-
disc from Chicago to a point on the
Pennsylvania Company's lines, it would
endeavor so far as practicable to load it
upon cars of the Pennsylvania Compa-
ny, thus sparing its own rolling stock,
accommodating the Pennsylvania Com
pany and saving the two and three -fourths
cents per mile which every road exacts
for the use of its cars by every other.
Thus a car of the Boston aud Maine
road might be loaded with general mer-
chandise from Portland, Maine, to San
Francisco. After it is unloaded the
question of its return arises. To send
it back light would mean an expense of
some sixty dollars. Hence it may be
loaded with fruit to Salt Lake City;
with household furniture to Omaha;
thence with grain to Kansas City; re-
loaded there with sand for St. Louis
take another cargo to Cincinnati, another
to Philadelphia, another to New York,
and still another to Boston. All the
time the car is being run on other roads
than its own the companies using it pay
the mileage named, whether it is full or
empty, and this gives them an incentive
to load it whenever possible.
IL the 0ffi.e Of SvSiy company is kSPt
by numbers, and their movements from
day to day are entered. Suppose car
of the Michigan Central road to pass
off from its line, enroute to Chattanooga,
Tenn. 1t would naturally go to Toledo
and there be delivered to the Cincinnati
and Hamilton, to which it would be
promptly charged. When it reached
Cincinnati, the Cincinnati, Hamilton
and Dayton would send postal card,
Deliver car 1901 to L. and NJ, other
wise the Louisville and Nashville road.
When the car returned it might be de-
livered to the Louisville, New Albany
and Chicago road, and reach the Mich
igan Central again at Chicago, or come
back by any one of dozen different
routes, but whatever one it took, at
every junction point the road delivering
the car would send its card of notifca-
ton, so that the record is complete, and
every road using the car for however
short distance is charged the mileage.
Any railroad using the car of another
anu TO 1tldse- r0- rcccrvcs tuTOss-rr' 'rS-saL-
good condition. Once accepted the
car must be returned to its owner or to
the proper connecting road in as good
condition as when received, necessary
wear and tear excepted. If car be
destroyed by fire or otherwise the road
upon which the accident occurs is abSo-
lutely responsible and must pay its value.
Similarly it must make all necessary
current repairs.
To hunt up missing cars and keep
them from lying idle when they might
be making money, each railroad COM
pany has a number of officials known
as car-tracers, who are constantly on
the 90. If it is found that car or
| number of cars have not been moved
| for some time the tracerS following them
up to the point where they were last
reported, often finds that they are lying
on siding with loads of lumber, stone
or something of that sort, which the
consignee has failed to remove. When
ever there is serious smaShup or
blockade each company hurrieS one OF
its 'tracers' to the point to look up its
cars, get the numbers of those destroyed
or move on these detained.
Sometimes it takes a deal of dunning to
induce railroads to give up cars that
they get into their possession. ESpe-
cially is this true of roads that are poorly
equipped and unable to raise funds to
buy cars. These find the rolling stock
of other roads very convenient for their
local traffic, and will sometimes keep it
until compelled to disgorge. Then the
car tracer camps on the trail of the car
or cars, taking them up at the point
where their delivery is indicated by the
last junction ticket, and, as a freight
car is too large to conveniently hide
he generally succeeds.
sGTA hugging society for church
purposes is late novelty in Pleasant
View, Neb. The society is pressing